HOLIDAYS AMONG THE HILL TOWNS
429
Photograph by Emil P. Albrecht
RED, WHITE, AND BLACK MARBLE DISTINGUISH THE FAgADE OF SIENA'S CATHEDRAL
This beautiful thirteenth-fourteenth century building rises majestically above the city
from a hill where, according to tradition, a temple to Minerva once stood. Certain it is that
a shrine to the Virgin Mary has occupied the site for nearly a thousand years. The facade is
attributed by some authorities to the master, Giovanni Pisano. The statues are modern copies
of the weatherworn originals (see, also, text, page 434).